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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (July 2, 1914)
s HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION Oregon Agricultural College is the Friend of Page of News Notes and Interesting Articles Specially Written by College Experts For . . ,. ' .:";'.V-;::.';...; 7.", ' ".. " .' .... '-" v :J;U;: ''! 11 1 ' !''! 1 ...'. -i . . ' . V .. " ' ........ '.i'. $ The following valuable arti- 3" cle on selecting and handling S loganberries, is contributed J specially for Farm and Homo Magazine Section by C. 1. Lewis, 4 horticulturist at Oregon Agri- cultural College. $5SSS$SS.S.3$SS ;N INVESTIGATION will show that many of the inferior dried and evaporated loganberries are due to one or all of three causes: poor selec tion of the fruit and careless harvest ing methods; rough handling in remov ing the fruit from the field to the evupurator, and unskillful methods em ployed in evaporation. Too much stress cannot be placed on the question of harvesting. Early in our investigations we soon determined that harvesting alone was responsible for many of the poor berries that were being evap orated. It is only by very careful handling and correct knowledge of the proper berries to pick that one can deliver to the evaporator a product that is desirable for evaporating. In addi tion to careless handling in the field many berries are ruined in being trans ported from the field to the evaporator. The best berries to select for evapor ating purposes are firm ripe berries. Care should be taken, however, not to pick these berries too soon. If they are light colored or very bright col ored and hard, they do not make a very satisfactory product. It is true a very pretty product can be manufactured, one which is very attractive, but the fruit is too tart and it also loses too much weight when in this condition. During the early part of the season growers need to be unusually cautious not to pick the berries too green. The berries are apt to ripen slowly and a grower has a tendency to become more anxious to remove the fruit and to start the evaporator. The presence of large amounts of this unripe fruit is probably partially responsible for the ereater loss in weight through the evaporation process during the early part of the season than is experienced during the latter part; thougn, possi bly, the fact that there is apt to be a little less moisture in the ground at the end of the season may be responsible for some of the difference in mois- ture content of the fruit. The berrieB which are over-ripe should not be used for evaooratine purposes. Such berries can be utilized for juices, syrups, jams, and jells. Cost of Picking. The picking is done mostly by women, girls and school boys, the aver age price being one cent per pound. Borne growers praenco giving live sixths of a cent early in the season and pay about one and one-fourth cents when the picking becomes poor in tne latter part of the season. It is, at times, hard to get really first class work done by the class of people who present themselves to our growers. The system of paying by the piece encour ages the pickers to be very careless and if this system is maintained it is absolutely necessary that eareful su pervision be employed. A check system of some nature so that the grower can check up on his pickers would be very advisable whether they pick by the piece or by the day. This is the only wav he can keep out undesirable fruit. items, leaves, etc. Up to the present time the growers have had very little difficulty in securinff pickers. Good camping facilities should be furnished and whole families will move to the loaanbcrry district and enjoy an out ing, and at the same time the young Deoule can earn money lor scnooi dooks. and other necessities. Owners of View of Oregon Agricultural Coliefe, Corvallis, Oregon, the Sole Aim of Which la to Aid isolated patches, small in area, may have some trouble in securing proper help for picking. The method used in handling pickers by one of the most successful logan berry growers in the state may be of interest to our readers. This man has 85 acres and estimates that it is neces sary to have 400 to 500 pickers to handle the crop. He is putting in a model camp ground with electric lights and sanitary surroundings. He ulso provides watchman both night and day. Under his present arrangement he is able to secure more pickers than he can use. He requires pickers to sign a written contract that they will stay with him throughout the season and will work eight hours a day if required. He pays the pickers one cent a hallock, but at the end of tho season gives a bonus of one-fourth cent a hallock to all those who have done first class work. He keeps field inspectors that he pays $2.00 a day. It is the duty of these inspectors to see that the work is carefully done. They also keep cheek of the men and the amount of fruit which each picker handles. If it is ne cessary for an inspector to speak more than three times to any picker because of carelessness or unsatisfactory work, the picKer is discharged. Each picker has a small book in which he keeps account of the number of hallocks picked. This is checked on a tally sheet kept by the owner. The daily balance is drawn each night. By Buch a system it is possible to pay off the four or five hundred pickers within two hours. Methods of a Grower. This grower provides canvas rest rooms. (Janvas is stretcnea so as to provide shade. This is very necessary for the women pickers and where whole families come there is a place for the ihildren to play. He sees to it that store keepers m the vicinity charge no extra prices to pickers for food products. The same is true of milk or any food product the campers need. The fruit is picked for canning pur poses and shipped in cattle ears, the shipping being done at night. The fruit then arrives in the morning in Portland in very good condition. Of course, it is necessary that the cattle cars be very thoroughly cleaned before loading but these cars afford ventila tion that it is impossible to secure with ordinary cars. There are two points which should be observed by the pickers. The first is that the berry is not pulled straight out from the stem, but should be picked with a slight twist of the wrist, which pulls the berry to one side. In doing this less pressure is used and there is less tendency to break off stems and leaves with the fruit. Second, many pickers have a tendency to hold too manv berries at one time in tne nana. The berry will soften and melt down very rapidly when held in the' warm hand. Again the berries are so sort tnat where a number are held together in the hand they bruise easily and the juice begins to leak. These bruised berries are very unattractive and give tho carrier a mussy appearance. In some eases we found the berries arrived at some of the evaporators in such a mis erable condition that we realized at once that something was wrong in the methods of field handling. Investiga tions showed that the time of picking was a very important factor; that the best berries which were arriving at the evaporators were picked in the cool of the day. It is tho general practice of the larger growers to pick a part of their field every day, working every day until noon, whilo in some' cases thev continue and worn until lour in the afternoon. Others pick every third day but work all day. The time and amount of picking is controlled to a certain degree by tho capacity of the evaporator. Berries picked early in the morning will not only dry heavier than those picked at noon or late in the af ternoon, but they also retain their form better. This latter fact is perhaps more important than the gain in weight, the oss of form and melting down of the berries being responsible for much of the drip which takes place. The berries become warm in the afternoon and when placed on the trays begin to drip badlv. This drip consists of a heavy syrup, rich in sugar, and its loss is very serious. Not only is there a loss in weight but this drip tends to caramel and char on the trays and is responsi ble for much of the unattractive burnt fruit which is found on the market. If possible wo should urge tho growers to pick the fruit by ten in the morning and under no circumstances to pick in the warm hours of the afternoon. SILO INFORMATION IN DEMAND. JUDGED by the number of requests for information on silos, they are about the most popular of ail sub jects that are engaging the attention of Oregon farmers and dairymen. Al though the subject is comparatively new in Oregon, almost 700 farmers have already sent in requests to the exten sion division of the Agricultural Col lege for the bulletin that is still on the press on silos and ensilage, lhe fact indicates a very deep and unusual interest in the construction and uso of silos in connection with dairying and other branches of farm operation. The use of silos is one of the means by which producers hope to cheapen the cost of farm animal production and at the same time utilize field products. Ensilage furnishes abundant and whole some succulents at the season of the year when they are almost or altogether unattainable otherwise. Farmers are fast coming to believe that a silo Will enable them to save the hay crop and utilize many farm products that now are wasted. This belief and interest have been aroused within the last six months. Previous to the operation of the dairy demonstration train by the extension division and the Southern Pacifie Kail way Company, the word oilo was scarce ly heard outside the college and cxteu sion lecture rooms. During this demon stration service the great value of silos both in saving crops and cheapening meat and dairy products was thoroughly demonstrated. Follow up work has been pursued steadily since that time by the extension division and by the leading agricultural journals of the state. As one Tesult of this campaign a great many farmers of the Willamette valley have already announced their intention to build silos during the present summer. BEST CROPS FOB CANNING. IN SELECTING crops for the use of association growers it is necessary to plant only such varieties as an be handled most successfully by the asso ciation, according to Professor C. I. Lewis, horticulturist at the Agricul tural College. When it has been as certained that a reasonable, steady and profitable market exists for certain varieties, it is necessary before making selection of these to consider whether they are entirely adapted to conditions of soil, climate and tho time at the ais posal of the grower. It is always best to select those crops that fit in best with the farming routine, provided of e.nnrsn thev are ncceptablo from all other considerations. The canning qualities of fruits and vegetables are of prime importance. Many fruits excellent for home use and for local market are sometimes too soft or unattractive otherwise to be shipped the Farmer This Newspaper. Agriculturists. any distance and have very little value for canning purposes owing to the fact that they become colorless or mushy in the can. It is not possible to put up a uniform pack at any cannery unless growers produce stock of the Bame kind and varieties. Should each farmer bring in the variety that he may choose to grow without reference to the se lection made by other growers that will supply the cannery, the association cannot put out uniform products. Th best way to Becure quality and uni formity in the pack is for the assoeia tion either to buy seeds and plants fof the grower or issue a list of deBirablo products specifying what varieties should bo grown. Ordinarily it is bet ter for the association to do tho pur chasing because better prices can be se cured by buying in large lots. Another reason why it is necessary to ascertain the crops to be grown be fore installing machinery is that by this means only machinery that will be in demand will be purchased. Unless beanB and cherries are grown to ad vantage in the association territory it is a heavy and useless expense to in stall bean cutters and cherry pitters. Another point to be considered i choosing the crops is that canneries to be profitable should be run for as many months during the year as possible. Overhead charges of interest on the in vestment, insurance, depreciation, ana other expenses continue whether the fac tory is in operation or not. Henee, varieties should be selected with a view to supply products from as early in too spring as they can be grown until lato in the fall when stored prouucis may, be carod for. MIDGE MENACES CLOVEB. THE clover seed crop is Doing menac ed in many parts of Oregon by tba clover seed midge, according to Pro fessor A. L. Lovett, assistant entomolo gist at the Agricultural College. While the midge renders the crop which it at tacks practically worthless for seed, it does not damage the crop very much for hay, and farmers are urgently advised to cut their midge infested clover for hay even though they expected to harvest it for seed. Evidences of the work of th midge are plain to thoso who under stand the nature of the damage done by it. Clover heads that are infested by midge start to blossom out but fail to opon fully. Instead they take on a brownish color and remain at half blos som. When this appearance is noted a eareful examination of some of the brownish half-blown heads should be made and if the midge is present the entire crop should be cut at once for hay. This not only saves the crop bnt it also destroys the insect before it reaches the reproductive stages, thug tending to prevent a recurrence of the attack. Control measures for this year are powerless to Bave the crop. Farm-' ers should co-operate in this in order to prevent propagation of next year'g crop of midge. The average age of the IfiH class at the Oregon. Agricultural College ia . 22.4 years. In numbers the class rep resented a 40 per cent increase over the class of last year, SACKS New and Becond-hand Sacks of all kinds. Hop Cloth, Burlap and Twine. Sacks of all kinds manufactured. Wo ship anywhere and buy everywhere. Country orders solicited. WINKLEMAN BAG CO. Oldest, Largest Second-Hand Bag D lalers in Northwest. 173 Front 8t, Portland, Ore,